Overview

Up to and including the November 2018 election, the citizens of Moorpark elected its Mayor and four City Councilmembers through an at-large election system.  Candidates for the Mayor and City Council could reside anywhere within the City limits, and the candidates with the most votes across the City won the election.  If two City Council seats were open, then the top two vote-getters would be elected to the City Council.

On August 29, 2018, the City received a letter from Kevin I. Shenkman, alleging that the City’s at-large election system was racially polarized, resulting in minority vote dilution in violation of the California Voting Rights Act, and threatened the City with litigation if the City did not switch to a district-based election system.  Under a district-based system, the City would be broken into districts, with each district electing to the City Council an individual residing within its boundaries.

At a City Council meeting on October 11, 2018, the City Council voted 5-0 to begin the process of changing the City’s at-large election system to a district-based election system.  On April 3, 2019, the City Council adopted an ordinance completing the City’s transition to a district-based election system, to be effective beginning for the November 2020 election.

• View 2020 Election District Map PDF (Can zoom in closer than the image below)

First District-Based City Council Election in 2020

The 2020 Municipal Election was Moorpark's first election under the new district-based system.  Dr. Antonio Castro was elected to represent District 4, and Daniel Groff was elected to represent District 2.  Councilmembers David Pollock and Chris Enegren, who were in the middle of their 2018-2022 terms, continue to represent the City on an at-large basis, since they were elected by voters from across the entire City in 2018.

Even under Moorpark's district-based election system, the Mayor is elected at-large by Citywide voters in Moorpark.  During the 2020 election, Mayor Janice S. Parvin was re-elected to a two-year term from 2020-2022.

Redistricting Every Ten Years

Every ten years (following completion of the decennial U.S. Census), the City is required to go through a redistricting process to ensure that the City's four City Council districts remain balanced in population.  The 2020 U.S. Census populations results were published in September 2021, and the City's decennial redistricting process began in October 2021.

[Back to Redistricting Home Page]